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Finance committee reviews Public Works budget; sewer and stormwater rates held flat
Summary
The City of Portland’s finance committee reviewed the Public Works departmental budget and utility funds for FY26. Public Works Director Mike Murray described savings and staffing adjustments, and city staff said there will be no rate increases for the sewer utility fund or the stormwater service charge this year.
Public Works Director Mike Murray told the finance committee that his department’s FY26 general fund request is $18.87 million, a roughly $387,000 (2 percent) increase from the previous year, and that revenues in the department are essentially flat.
Murray walked committee members through division-level changes and savings, including removal of a vacant deputy director position from the FY26 submission and contract reductions in solid waste after the city ended use of an outside collection contract. He also described planned investments in downtown maintenance and two additional full-time positions for the downtown district, half-funded by the Portland Downtown Improvement District.
Why it matters: Public Works runs core city services — street maintenance, traffic signals, solid waste, island services, fleet and winter operations — and changes in its budget affect everyday city operations and resident services.
Murray said the department will publish its schedule for street paving and sidewalk repairs within the week so councilors and neighborhood associations can share the information with residents. "We can have that out within the week," Murray said.
Staff highlighted several cost-saving moves: eliminating the vacant deputy director role (Murray said long-serving operations staff are covering the duties for now), buying salt and de-icing materials ahead of the season, and locking in more favorable fuel pricing for diesel and gasoline for the fleet. Murray said diesel was locked in at about $2.97 per gallon versus roughly $3.75 last year.
Solid waste payroll reflects a midyear wage adjustment for labor/trades positions; contractual services in that division declined because the city will no longer use an outside contractor for one route after June 30. Winter operations payroll increases are driven largely by overtime tied to the wage adjustments. Island services costs rose in part because a barging provider raised its rates, Murray said.
On utilities: Brendan O’Connell, the city’s finance director, said both the sewer utility fund and the stormwater service charge will see no rate increase in FY26. He attributed that in part to the Portland Water District returning a portion of prior assessments after some district capital projects moved more slowly than planned. O’Connell said debt-service timing and slower-than-anticipated capital spending helped keep the stormwater budget flat.
Committee reaction and next steps: Committee members thanked Public Works staff for identifying savings. Murray and finance staff said sewer/stormwater activity and schedules will continue to be monitored and that the department will post operational schedules and project lists for residents.
Ending note: The finance committee will continue budget hearings; Public Works staff answered follow-up questions and were thanked for the presentation before the committee moved to consider the police and HHS budgets later in the meeting.
